The Faith of a Centurion: A Universalist Perspective

I reading today is from buy the book of Luke Chapter 7.

Affigent Jesus finished presenting all this preventing all his words among the people he entered Burnham. A centurion had a servant who was very important to him. But the servant was ill and about to die when the Centurion heard about that. You heard about Jesus. He sent some Jewish Elders to Jesus to ask him to come and heal his servant. when they came to Jesus they earnestly pleaded with Jesus he deserve to have you do this for him they said he loves our people and he built our synagogue for us Jesus went with them get almost reached the house when the Centurion sent friends to State Jesus Lord don't be bothered I don't deserve to have you under my roof in fact I didn't even consider myself worthy to come to you just say the word and my servant will be healed

I'm also a man appointed under Authority with soldiers under me. I say to one go and he goes into another come and he comes I say to my servant do this and the servant doesn't. When Jesus heard these words he was impressed with it with a centurion. He turned to the crowd following him instead. I tell you even and Israel. I haven't found Faith Like This

When the centurions friends returned to his house, they found the servant restored to help.

A little later. Jesus went to a city called named his disciples and a great crowd traveled with him. Have you approached The City Gate a dead man was being carried out. He was his mother's only son and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. When you saw her the Lord said the Lord had compassion for her and said Don't Cry. He stepped forward and touch the structure in which the dead man was being carried. Does curing him Stood Still? Jesus said young man. I say to you get up. The dead man set up and began to speak and Jesus gave him to his mother. Awestruck everyone praise God a great prophet of the. Among Us. They said God has come to help his people. The news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding region.

Long before I decided to enter the ministry. I remember I went to a friend's wedding. Now I was in my mid-twenties. I guess my daughter was very young. Maybe 3 or 4 years old. and this friend had been a friend that I had known for many many years, but I hadn't seen him. I haven't seen him and maybe 3 or 4 years before this. And I didn't know he had he was very really just pee was getting was getting married and he was having the wedding in a church and everything and he is at his I never met his wife or anything like that with all complete surprise to us, but he invited us cuz we were so long for my old friend. If so, we came. And I we went to the wedding and it was in a little a little church. I didn't pay attention to the time. But if I was going to guess I'd say probably a Baptist or a Church of Christ kind of church. I don't know maybe Presbyterian a small kind of Free Church style Carnation and the minister got up and during the wedding he gave a sermon. Which is a standard thing to do during wedding sometimes especially before I think it's not quite as common these days. But the sermon and he gave him sermon topic that he gave was very odd to me.

Now I would assume that if you gave a sermon during the wedding. It would be about love it would be about. People that would be about any kind of thing between the bride and the groom with the church people getting married. Whatever that might be something something by God love something. I don't know if there's lots of things you could choose from but what this Minister spoke about in his sermon, was

homosexuality and he came out he came out about it came around and around to it in a very odd way. You came around to it by talking about the the one man one woman in marriage.

Line, I guess that's the thing that that that many ministers are kind of caught up on right now with that.

And you have worked that that end work that reading in to the reading about how a man is a woman leaves her family in and joins her husband he put that reading in and then he gave a whole sermon on it. I mean it must have been 20 minutes. And I was just kind of awestruck and I was I couldn't believe it because first of all. I knew that my friend didn't care about that at all. You know, maybe maybe he did maybe I maybe I misunderstood but I don't him for you know, I don't know 10 years at this point and If we were in grade school together and never want to seem to have been an issue with him, but of course his wife maybe his wife family was very religious, but it really felt like the minister had just kind of stuck this in because he really wanted to talk about it. And this was a good opportunity for him to talk about it. But the result of it was it it made me very uncomfortable. You made me very very uncomfortable to be in that church building and you know, I was going because this this guy was an old friend of mine, you know from from childhood and I was really happy for him and kind of brushed it off and thought will you know, I guess I'm talking about you much. It means it's just a minister. And I really nothing ever came of it after that. But I've never it made me really uncomfortable and I think there have been several times when I've been in church buildings in this this need has come over the minister to make a point about how some people are not welcome here. You know people who Who Loved other people of the same gender are not welcome. This man said, right. He didn't say it directly, but that's the impression he gay. And I was already more directly. I remember once and I used to serve a very Progressive Church in Austin Texas with a with a very strong Ministry for the lgbtq + community in Austin specially the the trans Community a lot lot of Outreach and and inclusion of a transpose in that community and it was a great community and I really I love them there their they're close to my heart all the time. but I remember one time we were in a we were in a meeting I I can't remember if it was it was like a committee meeting or if it was a service Sunday service and the fact that I can't remember it's kind of funny because they're pretty relaxed but I think it was a Sunday service and I remember what happened to somebody that wasn't the minister it was it was somebody in the car gation but somebody in the Carnation made a comment that there was and I thought you never know it was it was during prayer time so like we have the prayers for the people they would be able to pass a microphone and everybody would be who wanted to be allowed to to ask their prayer in the whole congregation would would would you seem to like we do with the god of Mercy hear our prayers and kind of thing but we would have to make fun around And one member very long time member came up and I forget the rest of his prayer was for but part of the prayer he was he was very angry with political thing that was going on at the time and he made a comment about how happy I gratefully was that he had found this congregation and how glad he wasn't there were no Republicans in this congregation. Which of course? Yo, it's almost I'm almost 90% sure is false. Right? I mean sure somebody in the congregation somebody in that room of a hundred people, you know, consider themselves Republican so that but it was this person's own. Prejudices showing themselves in church, and I and again I felt really uncomfortable. I felt uncomfortable. I thought all I can't you know. I can't imagine if I was that person here. I was I'd come maybe I'm visiting maybe I'm a longtime member. Maybe I'm a maybe I've been here since since before the other person has been here. you know, maybe maybe I'm just I'm in coming a couple of times it whatever whatever the situation is and I hear from from This fellow car get that. They're really glad that I'm not there. Maybe they don't know. Maybe they don't know that I'm Republican, you know, a lot of people go to church. Nobody knows that they are gay or lesbian or bisexual transgender queer.

And yet people will say things that make them feel unwelcome can't tell what someone's political affiliation is and your people will say things make them feel unwelcome.

Sometimes I've been at churches very Progressive churches Universalist churches and people have said that they're thankful that nobody here believes in God, you know, and then I'm I feel unwelcome wife have had the opposite happen. I've had people say, you know, I'm no bad things about atheist and then I feel Uncomfortable because I have many friends or atheists. I've heard people talk about the poly community and maybe a couple declare friends during that can be denied. You know, I I have friends too many communities of all different kinds all over the place. And so I often worry about them in the end when we make broad generalizations up. People. appointment my point is that here was an example on two different sides of things on two different.

2 difference very different kind of churches of the same the same kind of problem the same kind of US versus them mentality of our all aren't we glad we are the chosen people and those other people are here.

Play the story from Luke that we have in our reading today. The story comes. A couple of chapters after our last reading I missed a sermon last week cuz I wasn't feeling well so I bought that for that and we missed a little bit of stuff but two stories we passed over that we're not in the reading for nothing anyway, which I thought was commenting. One of them is the story of the calling of the Apostle. And the other one is the story of The Sermon on the Mount basically the the the Beatitudes I'm kind of the week. We've got a path over that those things with a really important teaching and affect the Sermon on the Mount is it is what comes right before death reading? I that's why the reading begin to with you don't want the inside the thing then he went in to compare him, but he was Jesus's is coming from getting a teaching is going in to confirm and he's becoming more more well-known is a good teaching. It's healing and everything.

So I'm there two stories in there in a reading but I'm going to focus mostly on the story of the Centurion. And so before I do that, I want to go back to skip ahead and talk about the story of the eyes of the Dead son of the Widow. So Luke the story of the centurions ossicles and Matthew, but but the story of the Widow of the Widow's son is only told him Luke and Luke is trying very hard in the section are actually in all of you the whole story but Especially seeing here to tie Jesus back to the Prophet Elijah and Elisha because they're both they're both seen is as important figures in the Jewish Community. They have their bhasin as kind of the folks. You're pointing the way forward towards the Messiah and Elijah very famously heels bring back to life a dead a dead child and feel that this that story of the Widow. I'm tight back into that. Also again, we seem there's lots of stuff in the in the Old Testament and Jesus teaching about caring for widows.

Women didn't have a whole lot of of self.

Upright moving out of water rights in in the time and without some kind of mail there so they kind of you basically that they belong to their parents until they got married and they belong to their husband and until the husband died and they belong to their eldest child effectively. And so with the with the husband being dead in that and the only male child having Dad the woman is in Dire Straits because she she doesn't have anywhere where she can go is going to she's going to be really out of luck and and the situation move Jesus in the end of the word that you that the population of something like on Jesus had compassion for her or something, but the word it in Greek. It is actually related to stomach so it's like it's like, you know, he he felt it in his gut he was so it was a way that it was on death row reaction. I think is really important. You know, one of the things I've said in the past and I'll say it again. I think what makes Jesus so important one of the press is that in Jesus. We see God coming and living a human life and understanding what it means to be a human being and here we have Jesus having a visceral reaction of sorrow and empathy for this woman who has lost her only son after losing her husband and everything else. So this the story kind of serve the services that show us give us a deeper understanding of Jesus's Person in been feeling too too kind of Link him back to Liza and also to touch, of course give up give him a miracle story to help Lee Credence to the idea that he was the Messiah. Felt that song that say about that. I want to go back to talk about the centurions. So the what's important to realize it was a store that ships. The Centurion is the Centurion is is not a good figure in in general in Judy at the time. The Roman Empire has kind of got conquered Judea and put in place kind of puppet Governors and and leaders of the area and is controlling things from behind the scenes are collecting taxes. Jerome new using Roman money lots of stuff like that. And so the the Centurion a centurion was a military leader who was in charge of a century of a hundred or so older and this was not a a a a a

run-of-the-mill soldier that this was a leader of other soldiers that leader of the unit for broke into smaller pieces in that so so probably he had other leader that they reported to him, you know, and then they end of those people had their own their own people to reported to them. Girl army with extremely well positioned in the Army and in and bananas and cheering he represent represent the oppression of the age of the Jewish people by the Romans. He represents the the evil of military conquest of the people's right of people being being oppressed and being being beaten down into submission and yet so so generally speaking centurions were not seen this good people with positive people to most of the of the Jewish population and yet When this insurance servant in the the word that use is can be either servant or slave.

It's not really clear and in Greek and then later he is of the word that the more like servants and slaves so surely this person with a slave was owned by the lobby at the Centurion cared quite a bit about the this Sherman or you know, why I'll stand for Jesus, right? So so this in Syria news is we have we have kind of empathy with sanitarian the situation. But anyway. The Centurion doesn't come himself. He sends a group of of juice and local people to come back for him. And in fact, they have an amazing positive thing to stay there like the century there. They're telling Jesus look like this intriguing I've asked you to come to the fan in really you should because he's been so good to the community if both our synagogue you can know he's always been a friend of our people. And for their there, they really want Jesus to help and part of that is is because he's asked them and part of it is because he's been doing good things for them in the past right in front of it is probably their own compassion for somebody. So do you just decides to to come help him? And really it doesn't seem like like the argument that they give is the reason for this County that they give the argument but he just comes and I'll think that you think that's a fairly related. But then before Jesus can even reach the centurions house isn't very intense friend to a friend for a week. We can kind of imply or are Gentiles are non-jews Roman citizen who are friends of the Centurion. Maybe his own his own. People who work for him then we don't know right please send these people and they say yo, the Centurion has come to head that said don't even come to my house. I didn't you know, I'm not even worthy for you to be here. And it is important because one of the things that this ensuring Augustino's about being so close to the Jewish Community is about ritual cleanliness and he knows that his home is ritually unclean if Jesus enters the home. Jesus will be ritually unclean and so he doesn't want Jesus to do this, but he tells you that you don't even need to come this is nice because it's intrinsically thinking about thinking about the Jewish Community. Jesus at the same time. We seen time come again. And if I don't see you in the next story in the story about the the the Widow's son where Jesus doesn't care about ritual Cleaning Authority. He touches the dead body which would make him ritually unclean and everyone around him is kind of shocked when he does it is that shows that Jesus didn't really care about ritual cleanliness. I'm at all. Dental and so he doesn't care about that but doesn't realize I'm not even not even worthy and their country and backed it up with with this amazing statement. He says, you know, I didn't. I'm a man with authority and I know that if I tell people I have authority over go and do it. They're going to do it and end in the same way you Jesus have authority. And so if you tell the the sickness to go away then you'll go away. You don't even have to be here you can you do you you can you can give it a command from where you are which Jesus thinks that they are the real thinks. He's great. He's hardly ever seen such Faith even in Israel. Mentally. That's what he does it when the friend to go back to the house. They find that the servant has had recovered in Jesus goes on to his next thing. This is the story of the other Widow and what

so there's a couple of really interesting things in your what I think is that ain't that the fact that she's just that this whole thing about you have authority in if you if you even order. It'll happen. You know, Jesus doesn't need to be physically present with us in order to affect us in order to change our lives and there's a lot of things that have grown up that it would come about Christianity about physical contact and physical touch in the end. I won't give you it didn't detail here but there's a lot of Sacramento things that have to do with with physically being together and physically touching one another and I was going to stop but here we see an example where Jesus doesn't need to be physically present in order to heal the fervent and the other was a lot of pregnant with a lot of argument especially in in like the Middle Ages and Renaissance about the nature of communion and whether Jesus was physically present in the bread and the wine and community and lots of lots of arguments in different different. Idea is a very no really Manute minor differences and things as well. As you know, the bread is the body of Jesus, but it's not in all these kinds of things are working through. but the story shows that means you just need to be physically present for something to be effective performing 244 thing to be

for him to be able to take to make an effect on something this kind of ball is this idea that Jesus's is mysteriously present. Another word. Like Jesus is Jesus is among us because we remember him it doesn't it doesn't know he says you do this in remembrance of me doesn't matter so much whether the bread on the wire actually Jesus's body and blood and I don't think they are but it doesn't really matter that the point is that Jesus is there with us in the meal welcoming everyone to the table. Select one thing more important point I want to make here is about the Centurion so they sent the Centurion is an outsider. And healing the Centurion slave kind of foreshadows an event that happens later in in Lux narrative the Luke wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts which picked up at the end of the gospel and talks about the the early life of the church and then early founders of the church and so in the book of Acts, there's a scene where Peter is asked to go to a century and home that to talk about about Jesus and about Christianity and he's unsure whether he should go because this is not a Jewish household, but he doesn't go and he ends up converting the Centurion in the end the trees. Baptized and so it seems to cherians entire household. And this is kind of the turning point when Peter says, you know, maybe it's okay for them to be Gentile in in the Jesus movement. Maybe we don't need to have just about Jews in the Jesus movement and idea that Paul went to pick up a run with Ethan and Mia will lead a to to the church when I today. So are we seeing the story is that?

Luke pointing out the fact that this this is something that Jesus himself said that this is not this is not an invention of the later church when Jesus welcome to everybody in the fact right before this corner right before the building before this we see Jesus taking in Levi, who is that who the tax collector? So it's so he he called Levi to be a part of the one of the puzzle to be part of his his his group of close followers and Levi the tax collector and the tax collectors Rosso have outcasts of society because they were helping the Roman oppressors. They were collecting money from the people and spending that money back to the Roman oppressors. And so they were in sometimes they were also They were also corrupt and they would take an additional money for themselves and pocket it but we don't see this as Levi, but that's one of the reasons why is not not good members of society, but over and over again, we see the Jesus doesn't care about that. He doesn't care that that Levi the tax collector doesn't care that people are are prostitutes or or new centurions or you know, whatever. He doesn't care about the food. They are heat. He wants everybody to come. And again, we from the with the Centurian but very specifically now we're talkin about gentile non-jewish people because I happen to this point the people he's been calling to her or Jewish. Or very closely related forget if the if the story of the the woman at the well come before this or after this in the narrative.

But I ordered you in the story of the Samaritan for the food of the Samaritan Samaritan's work. We're not Jewish but they were also very closely related that the other night. They had been there, cousin. Like I said, we're at the Romans were holy. Holy on that write their oppressors class a complete outsider.

So again, the point really is that Jesus doesn't care about your background doesn't care about what you do for a living. Do you even care about whether you're ritually clean or unclean with your following all of the the ritual Purity laws and things in the Old Testament Jesus and care about any of that thing we see but before that it was was actually reading last week that we skipped over we're Jesus and his and his Apostles are wandering through a field in the Sabbath taking Green from the field and eating it in the the the Elder the religious leaders are upset because they're doing something on the Sabbath and you have like this, you know why this is why you worried about this is not a thing to worry about you make so much more elegant than that, of course, but the point is that this is not this kind of thing is nothing to really worry about he wants to know are you helping the poor? Are you helping the oppressed? Are you taking care of the Widow? Who is the game with you after that? Are you are you loving your neighbor? Those are? Things he cares about he doesn't care about where you're from or what you do or anything like that.

And so I think what's happened is that it's very easy for us to lose sight of this message. Accepting people who are different from us is really difficult. And there are a lot of people who are proud sometime of the fact that they are so inclusive they're proud of the fact that they that they are so welcoming of other people and yet in their heart, maybe they're not It's hard to be welcoming of the person that you have made your villain. of the person that you have to have created a demon out of right it's hard to then welcome that thing person in you know, I see you and I are and our Facebook group and in the other Facebook group, I seen it happen sometime and we have people from all over looking for all over the world. If you pick them up from all over from all different kinds of background who were part of our community and we are folks who come from Evangelical Christianity folksy come from kind of War Main Line American Christianity Hope to come from from Christianity as a worship another place in the world to come from the 80s background from Buddhist background from other places and and Sometime if we've been hurt by the religious tradition of our upbringing whatever that is, then it can be difficult for us to welcome people from that tradition because we've been so hurt by it and to open our hearts those people and realize that they too are a child of God. And hold them accountable hold them accountable for for their beliefs, you know.

Gently lovingly argue with them then maybe they should consider this other thing but don't don't make them the other don't make them somebody out there their us to only create this this division between us and them we turn away from God because God is in those people just of God is within all people. We're All God's Children and God invites it all to the table if we're willing to come in love with our hearts open to what we're going to find there never a story of Jesus Jesus tell the parable of the banquet and inviting people to the banquet and nobody comes until then they go on the streets in Vigo. They can find the same kind of threw everyone invited to the banquet, but you have to come with an open mind and open Open Hearts and with love and be willing to be uncomfortable sometimes. in those conversation and be willing to to be wrong and be willing to be corrected and to grow and 2.

Really deep in your your faith. Set a reminder to do this weekend. Think about the the people and the groups that you have shown to the people in the in the group that you have made into your enemies. And think about how you can work to include them to welcome them. Honestly, not not just with lip service, but honestly, welcome them into your life In Love.